Endless elastomeric belts are used in hay balers, more specifically round hay balers, to compress and roll hay into compact cylindrical bundles. The belt is considered “endless” because it is formed as a continuous loop without a transverse joint. Typically, several of these belts are received around a series of rollers inside the hay baler. The belts are driven along the rollers so that hay introduced into the baler is compressed and rolled by the belts. It is noted that both surfaces of the belts contact the rollers.
These belts typically include a carcass including one or more carcass cords extending around a circumference of the belt, and an elastomeric matrix in which the carcass cord(s) are embedded. During manufacture of the belt, it may be desirable to maintain a selected arrangement of the carcass cord(s) before the belt has been cured and during curing of the belt so that the carcass cord(s) in the completed belt has this selected arrangement.